By Kurt Hoy

November 1, 1999

There are two kinds of turns in snowboarding, skids and carves. Skidding is the more basic-your board changes direction by pivoting, the tail sliding around the nose. A board skids when it's at a low angle to the snow (close to flat on the snow) and the edge is allowed to slide.

That angle-the amount the board is tipped-is the main difference between a skid and a carve. During a carve, the board is tipped so the edge digs in, or engages, and your board becomes like a train on rails, tracking instead of pivoting. How to: If you snowboard, then you already know how to skid turns. To add more carve to your turns, focus on eliminating rotational movements from your riding. Think "tipping" more than actually "turning." Once the board is on edge, it will bend into an arc and come around-you just have to balance long enough to let it happen. You'll know a carve from the track your board leaves behind. The wider, or more fanned-out it is, the more skid in your turn. If it's a narrow pinline, you carved a clean one.

When to skid, when to carve. It'd be safe to say that no one carves all the time. Better riders carve a larger percentage of the time and have a greater degree of carve (edge angle/round shape) in their skidded turns. Skids work best in tight situations because you don't need much space to get the board around, and for controlling speed. Skid on super-steeps, in the trees, and in the bumps. Carve when you want to go fast: in the pipe, pow, open runs, and wherever you have room. The rider who skids the least will have more precise control over their board, and will always go faster. Plus, they'll have a way cooler feeling in their gut. -K.H.